UN report says global meat supply has risen fourfold in last 60 years and is expected to keep rising

UN report says global meat supply has risen fourfold in last 60 years and is expected to keep rising

The average person eats about six times as much chicken and twice as much pork as their grandparents’ generation did, data from a UN report suggests, with global meat supply having risen fourfold in the last 60 years and expected to keep rising.

The supply of poultry rose from below 3kg a person in 1961 to 17kg in 2022, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Pork supply doubled to 15kg a person over the same period, while beef, the most polluting food, stayed steady at 9kg.

Agriculture is the second most polluting sector of the global economy. Its planet-heating emissions are forecast to rise by 7.6% over the next decade, according to the FAO’s review of the science on the drivers of meat supply and demand, with livestock responsible for an estimated 80% of the increase.

    • faltryka@lemmy.worldEnglish
      13·
      2 days ago

      It’s my understanding that it’s cheaper, healthier, and more environmentally friendly than beef, and I’d bet its growth is inversely correlated to beef consumption.

      Also it’s the staple protein for people who are trying to be more fit because of how lean parts like the breast can be.

      • FatVegan@leminal.spaceEnglish
        142·
        2 days ago

        Wait until they figure out about mushrooms, seitan, tofu etc. Nevermind, suddenly it’s not about health and protein anymore.

        • faltryka@lemmy.worldEnglish
          51·
          2 days ago

          Taste, convenience and local availability all matter too. In fact there’s a whole massive ecosystem of influences creating the observable change that we are talking about.

          There’s also a whole massive ecosystem of changes that haven’t created the change you want here.

            • faltryka@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              1 day ago

              This is a conversation about why a broad group of people have certain behaviors, and the observations I made were in regards to the common “why” for that broad group of people.

              You’re trying to make the conversation about why those people making those decisions are wrong in your opinion, but that wasn’t what we were talking about. We were talking about “why” they were making their decisions, not “was their decision moral”.

              You’re getting downvotes because you’re trying to have a different conversation than was being had, and don’t seem to be understanding that.

        • ChexMax@lemmy.worldEnglish
          21·
          2 days ago

          This is a narrow take. You can switch from beef to chicken to be healthier. You’re not saying i want to eat the healthiest version regardless of when I enjoy, you’re saying between these two meats I enjoy, chicken is the healthier protein. It’s not a lie that it’s about health just because they’re not following your standards

      • Jerkface (any/all)@lemmy.caEnglish
        33·
        2 days ago

        Chicken is one of the most powerful obesogens in your diet. The chicken that you are eating has almost nothing in common nutritionally with the ones grown in 1961.

        Meat is not healthy for anyone and chicken is one of the most concerning meats available for its health consequences. The more meat a human eats in their lifetime, the younger they die and the more major diseases they experience. The top killers of humans this year are all directly caused by or closely related to meat consumption.

        “Protein” is not a meaningful nutritional category for the average person. If you are getting enough calories from whole plants, you are automatically getting enough protein. Protein does not have to be supplemented.

        It’s also relevant to this discussion that chickens are the most abused animal on the planet. There are almost 27 billion chickens living in atrocity right now. The experiences of animals are real and matter.

        • faltryka@lemmy.worldEnglish
          41·
          2 days ago

          I think you’re mistaking me as some kind of crusader who is trying to evangelize chicken or something instead of someone observing what the general perception is relevant to the conversation.

          • Jerkface (any/all)@lemmy.caEnglish
            15·
            1 day ago

            I’m simply correcting your misstatements for the benefit of others. It’s unfortunate if they have somehow upset you; the realities of animal exploitation we avoid thinking about are indeed quite upsetting, and I don’t believe in protecting people from that.

    • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      2 days ago

      poor people can’t afford meat. when their incomes rise, the first thing they do is buy more meat.

      chicken is the cheapest meat. it also remains cheap while beef/fish/pork has skyrocketed in costs, making them far less affordable.

      • HubertManne@piefed.socialEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        pork a lot of times can be cheaper than chicken quality of cut wise. Most pork is closer to boneless skinless chicken breast. You can get roasts and such that is really beyond what you can even get form chicken and a bit closer to beef.

    • Arcanepotato@crazypeople.onlineEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      The “we” here is global, so I don’t think your question has a neat answer that can be applied in all regions.

      From the report:

      The global supply of terrestrial animal source food (TASF), namely milk and dairy products, eggs and meat, has rapidly increased between 1961 and 2022. The increase in per capita supply of TASF was driven by three commodities: eggs, poultry meat and pig meat.

      This chart is not talking about causes but it is interesting:

      More protein is consumed overall in higher income countries but less is coming from plants and more from animals.

      Poultry is projected to account for about half of the global growth in meat production (see Figure B39 and Figure B40) due to sustained profitability and favourable meat-to-feed price ratios.

      About two-thirds of all meat is expected to be consumed by one-third of the world’s population in 2032, which is only a slight improvement from the base period (see Figure B42).

      Increases in meat consumption have raised concerns about long-term sustainability, given the pressure that this consumption exerts on global resources, as well as the meat production sector’s contributions to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These mounting environmental and health concerns are expected to continue to shift consumer preferences away from red and processed meat, notably beef, towards leaner and allegedly more environmentally friendly alternatives, notably poultry and fish. These shifts are especially pronounced in consumers in Europe and Northern America. In sub-Saharan Africa, demand for poultry will primarily be driven by the greater affordability of poultry compared to beef, rather than by long-term sustainability concerns.

      So:

      1. Greater overall global consumption of protein
      2. As protein consumption increases more it comes from animal flesh and excretions vs plants
      3. Cost is a large factor in how much animal flesh is consumed
      4. Production of foods from poultry flesh is profitable
      5. Foods from poultry flesh are more affordable than foods from other animal bodies, driving up the consumption of poultry flesh.